US track set to be fast with difficult corners

[Ian]

I had two weeks in Turkey wearing nothing but shorts and flip flops, I only put a t-shirt on to give my back a rest from the sun, since arriving back in England I've been wearing jeans, trainers and even a fleece some of the time, It's awful. 

[Monty]

There is a suggestion that Austin could offer changes in elevation. I would love to see a track with corners at the crest of quite steep inclines so the cars go light. It would be a real challnge on aero and suspension set-up and could add a new overtaking possibilities.
Regarding heat, surely Austin couldn't be worse that Singapore, Malasia or (proposed) Korea??

[Jericoke]

There is a suggestion that Austin could offer changes in elevation. I would love to see a track with corners at the crest of quite steep inclines so the cars go light. It would be a real challnge on aero and suspension set-up and could add a new overtaking possibilities.
Regarding heat, surely Austin couldn't be worse that Singapore, Malasia or (proposed) Korea??

That's what I'm saying.  Bernie wants all the races in the heat!

[cosworth151]

Don't get your hopes up. Even if it does get built, it will be yet another Tilke yawn-drome

[Jericoke]

Don't get your hopes up. Even if it does get built, it will be yet another Tilke yawn-drome

We could get lucky.  There could be a hurricane or something.

We can even hold out hope that Tilke has paid attention to criticism:  there is much greater competition for F1 quality race tracks in the USA than, say Korea or Turkey.  Just like things never worked out in Donnington, a US F1 Race could be held at another venue on short notice (politics aside, of course).

[lkjohnson1950]

The amount and steepness of elevation changes is controlled by the rules I think Alia said. The corkscrew at Laguna would not be allowed at a new F1 track. Part of the reason Tilkedromes are so boring is that he is incredibly restricted with what he is allowed to do.

Lonny

[cosworth151]

Does that mean that the dive from Mirabeau down through Grand Hotel and out to Portier, possibly F1's most iconic stretch of track, won't be allowed?

Tilke is the master of tracks as boring and lifeless as the sites they're in. Austin would continue that sorry tradition.

[Jericoke]

Does that mean that the dive from Mirabeau down through Grand Hotel and out to Portier, possibly F1's most iconic stretch of track, won't be allowed?

Tilke is the master of tracks as boring and lifeless as the sites they're in. Austin would continue that sorry tradition.

Bernie says that there is no way Monaco would be allowed as an F1 race.

Modern F1 cars are so very safe, perhaps it's time to allow more risks in the track design.

[lkjohnson1950]

True, neither Monaco nor Spa could come in as new tracks. Imola was elimanted because the track passed to close to itself at one point (and Bernie needed the spot on the schedule). Tilke is only partly to blame.

Lonny

[Canada Darrell™]

Feh, I'll wait until it's actually BUILT before I listen or read about how awesome it's going to be.

"Hey, I'm building an F1 track myself. It's gonna be great. The best track ever! It'll have room to pass and everything."

Now, give my above proclamation to a PR Spinner, make sure it's at least 500 words or more and you'll have basically the statement we're talking about. 

[Jericoke]

Feh, I'll wait until it's actually BUILT before I listen or read about how awesome it's going to be.

"Hey, I'm building an F1 track myself. It's gonna be great. The best track ever! It'll have room to pass and everything."

Now, give my above proclamation to a PR Spinner, make sure it's at least 500 words or more and you'll have basically the statement we're talking about. 

The problem with track design isn't the amount of room, but rather the 'racing line'.  No matter how clever a track is, there is one 'best' racing line.  Even when Tilke designs a track with several 'best' racing lines, the one that gets used becomes the one with the most rubber, and the least debris.  That's a very difficult problem to overcome.

However, I do know that in American open wheel racing, during safety cars, they bring out a truck with giant blowers to clean debris off the track!  That first lap after a safetey car can be really intersting, especially if drivers know that the 'marbles' are gone from the outside line.

[Scott]

Wouldn't be a bad idea, especially on street courses (although you might want to use a vacuum truck instead of a blower).  F1 could just have a random lap red flag (sometime in the second half of the race preferably) and let them clean it up.  No tire changes of course 

[lkjohnson1950]

I still say use tires hard enough to not leave marbles. The teams will get used to it.

Lonny

[Scott]

If tires get that hard then there won't even be pit stops for tires.

[Jericoke]

If tires get that hard then there won't even be pit stops for tires.

There are other artificial ways to induce a pitstop:

Design cars for manual aerodynamic adjustments as the fuel level runs down.

Give the drivers a really big drink for the race so they need to take a pee break.

Require each car use two drivers.  (Then Ferrari can have way more guys under contract!)

Make the tires porous, so that even though they're very tough, they won't hold enough air for an entire race.

Use swappable 'fuel cells', it takes the danger out of refuelling, but still provides the stategic and tactical elements.